49ers' bye week comes at perfect time

LONDON -- Linebacker Patrick Willis said the 49ers' bye week has come at a "perfect" time, following an 11-day trip capped by a 42-10 win here over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The 49ers (6-2) spent Sunday night in London before flying home Monday amid the United Kingdom's travel chaos, a result of an overnight storm with high winds.

"This week will be good for everybody to get their bodies back and for us to get ahead," Willis said.

Their five-game winning streak is the league's second-longest current streak, behind the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs (8-0). All five of those 49ers wins have come by double-digit margins for the first time since 1995.

No one was complaining about the bye breaking up any momentum before their next game, Nov. 10 at home against the Carolina Panthers. After that homecoming is another set of back-to-back road games: at New Orleans and Washington.

Rather than outright dismiss his team for this week, coach Jim Harbaugh said "opportunity practices" will be held Tuesday and Wednesday.

Those sessions could afford the 49ers more opportunities to evaluate three players -- wide receiver Mario Manningham, cornerback Eric Wright and defensive tackle Tank Carradine -- in their final eligible week on reserve/injured lists. All three are expected to be added to the active roster next week, and the 49ers will have to make corresponding moves to create room for them.

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Left tackle Joe Staley said he'll take advantage of the break to rest a body that was one of the few not on last week's injury report. There were 14 other starters listed with ailments, including all three defensive linemen -- Justin Smith (shoulder), Ray McDonald (biceps) and Glenn Dorsey (hamstring) -- who rested most of Sunday's second half.

Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore became the NFL's first quarterback/tailback tandem to run for two touchdowns each in a game since 2003, when Doug Flutie and LaDainian Tomlinson did so for the San Diego Chargers. Bill Kilmer and J.D. Smith had been the last 49ers duo to accomplish that, in 1961.

During their five-game winning streak, the 49ers have forced 13 turnovers and converted all into points, the latest being Dan Skuta's 47-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

All five trips inside the Jaguars' 20-yard line resulted in 49ers touchdowns, their most red-zone touchdowns in a game since a 2008 game against the St. Louis Rams.

The 49ers matched a franchise record by scoring at least 30 points in five consecutive games. They outscored their opponents 174-61, and that 113-point differential tops the five-game runs from 1994 (196-89) and 1997 (166-73).

The 49ers improved to 6 of 7 on fourth-down conversions after Sunday's 2-for-2 effort. "We know that our (offensive) line has been doing a great job, and we can get one yard any time," said Gore, who converted on fourth-and-1 on the opening drive.

The 49ers are 11-1 in October games under Harbaugh, whose 14-6 overall road record is tied for the league's best since 2011 with the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick.